conscious

[kon-shuhs]

adjective

aware of one's own existence, sensations, thoughts, surroundings, etc.

fully aware of or sensitive to something (often followed by of): conscious of one's own faults; He wasn't conscious of the gossip about his past.

having the mental faculties fully active: He was conscious during the operation.

known to oneself; felt: conscious guilt.

aware of what one is doing: a conscious liar.

aware of oneself; self-conscious.

deliberate; intentional: a conscious insult; a conscious effort.

acutely aware of or concerned about: money-conscious; a diet-conscious society.

Obsolete. inwardly sensible of wrongdoing.

noun

the conscious, Psychoanalysis. the part of the mind comprising psychic material of which the individual is aware.

Origin of conscious

1625–35; < Latin conscius sharing knowledge with, equivalent to con- con- + sci- (stem of scīre to know; see science) + -us -ous; cf. nice

Related formscon·scious·ly, adverbhalf-con·scious, adjectivehalf-con·scious·ly, adverbhalf-con·scious·ness, nounnon·con·scious, adjectivenon·con·scious·ly, adverbnon·con·scious·ness, nouno·ver·con·scious, adjectiveo·ver·con·scious·ly, adverbo·ver·con·scious·ness, nounqua·si-con·scious, adjectivequa·si-con·scious·ly, adverb

Can be confusedconscience conscious

Synonyms for conscious

2. knowing, percipient.

Synonym study

2. Conscious, aware, cognizant refer to an individual sense of recognition of something within or without oneself. Conscious implies to be awake or awakened to an inner realization of a fact, a truth, a condition, etc.: to be conscious of an extreme weariness. Aware lays the emphasis on sense perceptions insofar as they are the object of conscious recognition: He was aware of the odor of tobacco. Cognizant lays the emphasis on an outer recognition more on the level of reason and knowledge than on the sensory level alone: He was cognizant of their drawbacks.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for half-conscious

Contemporary Examples of half-conscious

While he was involved with Carr, police found a bloodied, half-conscious woman by his Datsun.
Arizona’s Serial-Killer Saga
Terry Greene Sterling
October 20, 2011

Historical Examples of half-conscious

At last his tap at the door roused me from this half-conscious state.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 2, August, 1863
Various
Her state had been more like an imperfect, half-conscious, quivering death.
The Rescue
Joseph Conrad
"Oh, oh," he moaned, only half-conscious now of what they were doing.
Watchbird
Robert Sheckley
Half-conscious as she was, she was struggling to prevent the abduction.
The Green Rust
Edgar Wallace
"I left him half-conscious, on the floor of the reception-room," replied Duncan, calmly.
The Last Woman
Ross Beeckman

British Dictionary definitions for half-conscious

half-conscious

adjective

only partially alert and awake

conscious

adjective

alert and awake; not sleeping or comatose
aware of one's surroundings, one's own thoughts and motivations, etc

aware of and giving value or emphasis to a particular fact or phenomenonI am conscious of your great kindness to me
(in combination)clothes-conscious

done with full awareness; deliberatea conscious effort; conscious rudeness

denoting or relating to a part of the human mind that is aware of a person's self, environment, and mental activity and that to a certain extent determines his choices of action
(as noun)the conscious is only a small part of the mind

Compare unconscious

Derived Formsconsciously, adverbconsciousness, noun

Word Origin for conscious

C17: from Latin conscius sharing knowledge, from com- with + scīre to know

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for half-conscious

conscious

adj.

c.1600, "knowing, privy to," from Latin conscius "knowing, aware," from conscire (see conscience); probably a loan-translation of Greek syneidos. A word adopted from the Latin poets and much mocked at first. Sense of "active and awake" is from 1837.

half-conscious in Medicine

conscious

[kŏn′shəs]

adj.

Having an awareness of one's environment and one's own existence, sensations, and thoughts.

Intentionally conceived or done; deliberate.

n.

In psychoanalysis, the component of waking awareness perceptible by a person at any given instant.

Related formscon′scious•ly adv.